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Advice is like opinions. Everyone's got one.

Over the course of my career, I've gotten some good advice and some bad advice, advice I wish I'd taken and advice I wish I'd never heard, advice that made no sense at the time and advice that was like one of Oprah's light bulb moments.

Here are the top three worst pieces of advice I've gotten and the top three best pieces of advice I've ever gotten.

THE WORST ADVICE

1. Get a real job.

I've done a great many different jobs over the years. When I was a teenager and in my twenties, I worked at a flower stand, I worked at Baskin-Robbins, I worked as a hostess, I worked at a pasta shop, I worked at a clothing store, I took care of other people's children, and I took care of other people's pets. When I got older, I taught freshman English at the college level, I was a book publicist, and I became a waitress.

Most of the time, though, I have been a freelance journalist. In fact, it's been about 15 years. I haven't done that the whole time, but it's been my focus. And I do other things. I help companies perform better online. I generate social media content for big brands. I blog. Somehow, I've cobbled together a living doing this.

Along the way, especially when I was frustrated, I would ask other people what I should do. Sometimes, they would tell me to "get a real job." Of course, there are times when I did have a "real job," but for the most part I've taken a rogue relationship to generating income.

Now, that's my real job. I'm full-time self-employed, a high-functioning member of the creative class, someone who is lucky enough that they can apply their writing skills in both creative and marketing ways.

This is my real job.

2. Give up.

I'm really bad about giving up on things. People are always writing these days about "when to give up," and I don't know if I'm familiar with that time. Because it's really hard to know -- without hindsight. I've been working on a novel for a long time, and every once in a while someone tells me to give that up, but I don't want to do that. Even if I never finish, I want to have tried.

When I get deeply conflicted about something, I ask myself what the brave thing to do is. Sometimes that means doing a crazy story. Sometimes that means sticking it out. Sometimes that means doing nothing.

Giving up means never knowing how it would have turned out otherwise.

3. Go back to school.

There was a time in my life when people suggested I go back to school. I have a B.A. and an M.A., but they suggested I get an M.F.A. or a PhD. With the student loan situation being what it is, I'm sure glad I didn't.